Eye of the Storm 2: Black Storm
by KuroGalaxy14
Summary: Two years ago, Argo Garcia was defeated in spectacular fashion by Gingka and the others by their flagship, the Eye of the Storm. Now, he has returned, free from his prison cell and seeking revenge. Can Gingka and his allies stop Argo's plot before it is too late? Rewritten because I was not satisfied with the original. Sequel to Eye of the Storm.
1. Chapter 1

**And we're back! This rewrite took me a bit longer to start on than I thought it would, because I got a bit lazy and had a bit of writer's block. BUT, I have gotten past both and now this story and its new plotline are well underway! For anyone who was reading the original, I apologize for not finishing it, but I had several problems with it. First, I hadn't actually planned for the plotline to go further than Gingka's rescue, therefore I did not have a destination for the plotline. Second, while I enjoyed writing the Hikous and the giant enemy monster thing into the story, I did not have an enormous point into having them there, especially the Hikous, and I found that I had given myself too much to work with and not enough plot. However, I have re-imagined this plotline and it is now much stronger AND it now is stronger and better. (And, as a bonus, I found a way to at least partially include the Hikous with a point to them being here, as you will soon discover. ;) ) So, without further ado, enjoy the new and much improved Eye of the Storm 2!**

* * *

In the center of battle, at the darkest of night,

Sometimes only a glimmer, sometimes a flash of light,

A nebulous shadow, it strikes at the core,

You may prepare your weapons, but futile is war.

A flash of the Eye, and all may be lost;

You can fire your weapons, but what is the cost?

For all that is needed is the sight of the form;

For you to beware the Eye of the Storm.

* * *

"Now docking at dock A: WBBA starship one, designation, Eye of the Storm."

"The Eye is back too?" Ren, who had just disembarked from the Infinity with her friends, looked up in surprise.

"Apparently. It's been awhile since we've seen it." Shinobu said, also looking surprised as he stepped to the window just in time to see the shadow of the looming black ship as it docked atop the orbiting space station.

"I wonder what they've been up to? Guess we'll probably get to see them at some point." Zero said, smiling at the sight of the ship they had once been terrified of.

"I believe their latest mission was just general reconnaissance around our space borders." Tsubasa said as he joined the group. "Making sure all of the sensors out there are working properly so that we know when someone enters our territory."

"It is a good ship for that, since it can take out basically any other ship that it might need to." Kite stated, adjusting his glasses slightly.

"Airlock twenty-three online for early disembarking of Eye of the Storm commanding officers."

Zero laughed at this. "They couldn't wait for it to finish docking so they just flew right out, huh?"

"Apparently" Tsubasa chuckled. "Should we go greet them? That airlock isn't too far away."

"I'm up for it." Shinobu said.

"It's in the direction of our shuttle down anyway." Maru spoke up, looking at a map. "I bet they'll probably take the same shuttle if they have nothing else to do here first."

"Most likely." Tsubasa agreed as he led the way in that direction.

"Attention. WBBA starship one, Eye of the Storm, now docked at dock one."

"Ahh, home sweet home." Gingka sighed in relief as he stepped out of the airlock with his metal-masked comrades and looked around, gathering his bearings.

"I'd better make sure that they're unloading the digital information properly." Yuki said before walking off.

"Have a nice vacation, Gingka. We'll see you back here in a few days!" Kenta said as he and the others split off in their various directions, heading towards their homes around the planet.

Gingka chuckled softly and let out a relaxed sigh, standing still just outside the airlock for a few minutes before turning on one heel and striding off towards the shuttle he knew was waiting to take him back to the surface and his father.

"Oi, Commander Stormflight!"

A familiar voice caught Gingka's attention and he turned, smiling as he saw who had spoken. "Well, if it isn't Captain Ootori and his commanding crew. I thought that was the Infinity I saw docked as we were coming in."

Tsubasa chuckled. "Maintaining formality in the docks, I see."

"The Eye still does carry a certain level of secrecy about it."

"Meaning you just don't want to bother taking the mask off yet." Zero spoke up.

Gingka paused and, although the others could not see it behind the gleaming steel mask, grinned sheepishly. "Perhaps." He admitted.

"I'm half surprised you didn't just fly down to the surface in that thing instead of here." Ren said.

"Technically that wouldn't be safe. My science officer did not create these for any sort of traveling, especially not reentry to an atmosphere or leaving it, for that matter. The suits were created for short distances and combat around a certain point, such as the planet's surface or the Eye itself, as you have seen."

"That makes sense I guess." Ren scratched her cheek.

"We should probably get to our shuttle before it takes off without us." Maru spoke up.

"Good idea. Which shuttle are you scheduled for, Commander?"

"The very next one, leaving in ten minutes." Gingka replied.

"I suspected as much. We're on the same one then."

"Then why are we still standing here when we could be walking to it?" Eight laughed, as the entire group began heading for their shuttle, talking and laughing along the way.

It was a few hours later before Gingka was finally able to take off from just outside the shuttle hangar, his suit calculating the fastest flight path to the WBBA Space Core Headquarters and home.

"Headquarters this is Commander Stormflight of the Eye of the Storm, requesting information on the director's location."

"Welcome home, Commander. Your father is currently giving his annual speech to the most recent group of graduates from the Academy. Shall I notify him of your arrival home?"

"Please do, but inform him that I will be dropping by the auditorium to meet him there."

"Figuratively or literally dropping, sir?"

Gingka laughed at this. "Perhaps both."

"I will let him know."

"Thank you. Over and out." Gingka said as he changed course and flew towards the Academy, smiling faintly as he remembered the adventure that had started there the last time he had been there. At least this time, there wouldn't be Argo to mess up the ceremony like before.

Gingka paused to hover over the auditorium, able to see his father on the stage speaking. He noted mentally that there were quite a few more graduates this year than before, wondering for an instant if any of them would be assigned to his command.

"You are about to join one of the strongest military forces in the galaxy." Ryo said. "From here on out, you are no longer cadets." He glanced up slightly, eyes catching movement, and hid a small smirk of amusement. "You are crew members, scientists, perhaps even captains. It all depends on how well you have done and continue to do. Your schooling has already prepared you for what you will be needing to do under the command of your captains and other officers, such as the one who I see has decided to attempt hovering without being noticed." He looked pointedly up at Gingka, causing everyone else in the auditorium to look up as well.

"Allow me to introduce you to your highest ranked commanding officer." Ryo said, motioning for Gingka to land.

"Well, if you're gonna MAKE me do this…" Gingka chuckled under his breath as he arched upwards before diving straight down, flipping over at the last second and landing neatly on his feet with his jetpacks igniting at the last second to soften his landing.

"Commander Stormflight of our very own flagship, the Eye of the Storm." Ryo said, gesturing dramatically to his son. Applause broke out as Gingka bowed for an instant before straightening.

"Anything to say, Commander?" Ryo asked.

"I believe you have probably summarized it quite well already, from what I heard, Director." Gingka replied formally, causing his father to chuckle under his breath before turning back to the microphone.

"In that case, I wish you all the best of luck in your future endeavors." Ryo said. "You are dismissed."

"I remember when I was sitting in the audience for that speech." Gingka said as he and Ryo stepped off the stage together.

Ryo chuckled and patted his son's back. "That was probably the proudest I've ever been while giving it. Now come on, off with the mask."

Gingka laughed as his mask retracted immediately. "Good to see you too dad."

"Welcome home, my son." Ryo chuckled, hugging his son tightly.

"You should have been with us on this mission." Gingka said. "We saw some pretty interesting things. I had already told you about the new alien race that wanted to ally with us."

Ryo nodded. "I met with their leaders approximately a month ago. A treaty is already in progress."

Gingka nodded. "Good. But hey, enough of business. Where should we go for lunch?"

Ryo laughed. "Always thinking with your stomach."

Gingka looked sheepish. "When I'm not on-duty, yes."

"Let's get out of uniforms first and decide from there." Ryo chuckled, patting his son's back before leading the way to his personal transport.

* * *

Unknown to the two Haganes, at that moment, alarms were going off across the city in the prisons, as guards rushed around to find an escaped prisoner.

"It sure took you long enough." Argo Garcia snarled as he followed a masked woman wearing black and blue, her long violet hair tied up into a ponytail for convenience.

"It took us some time to find you and we could not be sure that the Eye of the Storm would not detect our presence until we knew that it was returning home. Even now we do not have much time to get you off the planet before it takes to the cosmos once more." She replied.

"Well then, you'd better have a plan, Miyako." Argo grunted as he and the young woman hid in a closet and waited for the patrols searching for them to pass.

"I do. They would not question their director's personal shuttle leaving the planet until it was too late for them to realize." Miyako said.

"That is quite far and risky to attempt." Argo growled as they continued on, exiting through the entrance Miyako had made when breaking in hours before.

"But escaping the planet itself will be easier with that, plus it will be near our secondary objective."

"What secondary objective?" Argo growled.

"Getting the very construction plans to the Eye of the Storm."

"Even I do not know where the archive that holds those files is." Argo growled. "Only their director would know."

"Or the commander of the great ship itself. Your siblings told me to also kidnap Gingka Hagane. And I have a simple way of convincing him to allow me inside so long as he and his father do not know of what I have done, which they should not."

"Is that so? And why should they trust you?" Argo grunted as they ran off into the darkness of the city's alleyways.

"Quite simple. I am family."

Argo paused his running and looked at the woman in surprise. "You are related to the Haganes?" He narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"I hold no true loyalty to my bloodlines. My mother is the sister of Ryo Hagane." Miyako said casually. "They will let me in and within a few hours we will have both my cousin," she emphasized the word 'cousin' with some contempt, "and our means of escape. They will discover for the first time that I am no sympathizer to their cause and they will wish they had paid more attention to me before."

"I see. Fascinating." Argo chuckled darkly. "It will be a pleasure to watch you work, then."

"We will soon arrive. Ah look. They have enlisted the help of the civilians to find you." Miyako pointed to a billboard that was currently displaying an alert symbol next to Argo's face.

"We can't have that now." Argo said.

Miyako reached into a bag she was carrying on her back and pulled out a few things. "These will serve well enough to disguise you. But we must hurry before anyone sees us. To get you in I will be pretending that you are my copilot for my own ship."

"And how in the world will that even work?" Argo growled, putting on the disguise despite his doubts.

"Why, because they trust me of course. Were you not listening? If I tell them that you are an ally, they will believe me. This disguise will keep them from ever knowing who you really are, and unlike the last time you infiltrated them, they will not know this time."

"This had better work or you're dead." Argo growled as he finally got into his disguise and the two moved off once more.

"It will work just fine." Miyako said calmly. "Do you not trust me even though I am dating your brother?"

Argo shrugged. "You have not yet fully proven your loyalty. Consider this another chance to do so."

"Oh I do." Miyako said in a sweeter tone.

The two then continued on in silence for quite some time before they finally reached the Hagane residence, where Miyako pressed a button to request entrance.

"Who is there?" A voice said through a speaker.

"Please notify Mr. Hagane that his niece, Miss Miyako Hikou, is here to see him, and has brought a friend of hers as well." Miyako said.

"Of course Miss. Please come in. I will notify Mr. Hagane of your arrival."

"Thank you very much." Miyako said, smirking slightly at Argo as the door opened and they were let in.

"Miyako! What a pleasant surprise!" Ryo exclaimed a few minutes later as he entered the entranceway to the home, embracing the purple-haired woman warmly.

"My copilot and I were in the area and I figured I should come say hello." Miyako replied, hugging her uncle back and accepting his welcoming kiss on the cheek. "This is Hayabusa."

"Nice to meet you." Ryo said, shaking Argo's hand and clearly not knowing just who he was really speaking to.

"Same to you." Argo said, making his voice different so that he would not be recognized in that way.

"We were just about to head to dinner. You can join us if you'd like." Ryo said.

"Oh that does sound nice. I'll definitely come, what do you think, Hayabusa?" Miyako asked in a sweet tone.

"Sure I'll come." Argo said, although he was a bit nervous about the prospect of doing so without being caught. However, he knew that he could likely fool the two redheads well enough for the short period of time that he would be around them.

"Come this way, I'll have a maid take you to a couple of guest rooms while we wait for Gingka to come down." Ryo said.

"Thank you." Miyako said, again in a sweet tone that was almost sickening to Argo.

Ryo smiled and nodded to a nearby young woman, who approached and offered to take the two to their rooms.

"I will meet you back down here in an hour, if that works for you." Ryo said.

"That sounds like a good time." Miyako said as she and Argo followed the maid off into the house.

As soon as the maid had left, Argo knocked on Miyako's door, a slight scowl on his face.

"Come in." The woman called in a sing-song voice.

"I thought we were going to be in and out, not going to dinner with them." Argo snapped quietly as he entered.

"Oh it works well for me either way." Miyako said. "See, it would be easier to get away at night when most of the house has gone to bed. However, you do have a point about overstaying. We shall have to see if there is a chance at capturing my cousin before dinner, but it would be difficult to drag him down to his father's shuttle unconscious."

"We may not have to." Argo said. "Just ask him to show us around for a bit and he's bound to eventually show us the hangar bay of the house. That would not be a far distance to have to drag him once he's knocked out."

"You have a point." Miyako said before freezing as another knock came on her door. "Who's there?"

"Just me. My dad said you were here so I figured I'd come say hi and show you around if you're already ready for dinner."

Miyako shot a smug smirk at Argo at the sound of Gingka's voice outside. The two nodded determinedly at each other before Miyako went to open the door.

"Why, that sounds delightful! It has been a while since I have seen you, cousin." She said, still maintaining a sweet and friendly facade that only Argo knew was hiding the serpent ready to strike that he had seen many times from the red-eyed woman.

Gingka grinned. "Yeah, when was the last time I saw you? Has to have been quite a few years."

"Probably. I believe we are ready. I would love to see this house since you've offered to show us. Oh! This is my copilot Hayabusa, by the way. He loves studying various types of ships."

Gingka extended a hand, smiling. "Nice to meet you. Perhaps you would like to see the hangar then. We have several unique ships down there."

"That sounds interesting." Argo replied, hesitantly shaking Gingka's hand and hoping that the other would not see through his disguise.

"Off we go then." Gingka said, turning and leading the way, not knowing that by offering to take the two to see the hangar, he had sealed his fate.


	2. Chapter 2

**IT HAS BEEN SO FREAKING LONG SINCE I UPDATED THIS GAHHHHH I'M SO SORRY GUYS. I got writer's block for a long time again, didn't know quite what to do with this, and was busy with other things as well. But! I should have this rolling quite well now and hopefully I can return to some sort of regular updating schedule again. (I haven't been able to do so since what, November? NaNoWriMo messed me up so bad. XD) Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

The next thing Gingka knew, he was waking up in a dark room, his head spinning and pounding. He groaned faintly and sat up, trying to put a hand to his head only to find that his hands were tied firmly behind his back. The redhead furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, trying to remember what had happened. The last thing he remembered was showing Miyako and her copilot around the hangar bay of his home. His eyes widened suddenly as he remembered something hitting him in the back of the head before he fell unconscious.

"Was it them…?" He wondered, muttering under his breath as he looked around, trying to figure out where he was.

"Well, I see you're awake at last."

Gingka's head snapped towards the speaker as he narrowed his eyes. "You." He growled.

"Oh but of course." Argo smirked as he walked in and stood a short distance away from the redhead. "We had to get off the planet somehow, and capturing you was another objective. You made it perfectly simple to do by offering to show us around your home."

"So Miyako has gone traitor then and joined your side." Gingka growled.

"Oh but of course. She is quite the skilled infiltrator. You and your father never suspected her." Argo said.

"This ship will be tracked. None of your ships can face the Eye, you know that." Gingka said.

"Oh but naturally we don't plan on keeping this ship for long. Just long enough to reach our fleet and then we will set it adrift. Plus, we have plenty of time even if the Eye is faster."

"Do you now?" Gingka growled.

"First of all, you had just docked and all of your crew has gone to a break. It would take quite some time to gather them all back together for the Eye to be able to leave. In addition to that, when we left, we had at least a half hour before your father would notice your disappearance, assuming nobody noticed the shuttle leaving. Also, the Eye will be a bit more disorganized without her captain now, won't it?"

Gingka narrowed his eyes. "You underestimate us if you think you will not be caught. Your plot failed last time and it will fail again."

"I really don't think so. You see, we're already winning and have struck the first blow. And you're going to help us strike the next."

Gingka narrowed his eyes. "And what makes you think that I'd ever help you do anything?"

Argo smirked. "Well, once we arrive at my ship, you'll find out."

"I won't bend to torture." Gingka said calmly.

"So you think." Argo said, turning and leaving, locking the door behind him.

Gingka sighed shakily, trying to get to his feet and looking around for some means of escape. He knew that he had to contact his allies sooner rather than later, although Ryo had likely already noticed his disappearance.

"How could I have not been on my guard…" The redhead mumbled, noting with some annoyance that his cousin and Argo had thought to take anything out of the room that he could have used to escape. "There has to be something here, come on…" But, to Gingka's slight dismay, there was nothing to be found that could help him. He sighed heavily and sat back down, leaning against the wall and hoping that his allies would notice his absence sooner rather than later.

* * *

In the meantime, Ryo was waiting in the entranceway to their home and frowning slightly. Even though he had heard from one of the maids that Gingka was showing Miyako and her copilot around the house, the three should have been ready to go to dinner by now. He looked towards one of the maids and waved her over.

"Where is my son?" He asked, calmly.

"Has he not arrived here yet?" The maid looked confused. "I last saw him in the hangar with your guests."

Ryo frowned slightly, getting a strong feeling that something was very much off.

"Mr. Hagane!" a voice called.

Ryo turned, surprised to see one of the hangar maintenance crew rushing towards him. "What is it?" He asked, growing more and more nervous with each passing second.

"One of the ships is missing. Records indicate that it took off without any warning about an hour ago. We cannot contact it."

Ryo froze. "Search the house. I want to know immediately where my son and guests are."

"Sir…" the maintenance man said, "we also found video evidence of them knocking the Commander out and dragging him into the ship."

Ryo's eyes widened before he bolted off. "Get me a shuttle to headquarters, now!" He shouted behind him as he rushed to the other room and began to contact the Eye of the Storm's officers.

"Mr. Hagane? Is something wrong?" Yuki asked as he came up onscreen.

"Yuki. I need you to get the Eye back into operation as soon as possible." Ryo said.

Yuki blinked and frowned. "What's happening?"

"Gingka's been taken captive by someone I thought was an ally. We need to hurry and find him and rescue him before whatever they they want with him is accomplished."

Yuki's eyes nearly popped out of his head at this. "I'll be right on it, but most of the crew will be very difficult to contact since they're on break now. You may be better off taking another ship that's already ready and waiting for the Eye to join you when it's ready."

Ryo nodded and sighed heavily. "I hadn't thought of that, but I will have one ship redirected to do that. Is the Infinity available?"

"It docked for holiday around the same time we did." Yuki said. "I'd expect it's only as available as the Eye right now, but the crew of a smaller ship will be easier to find and since it has not been assigned its next mission, it would be easier to redirect to this one."

"Have that done." Ryo ordered. "I am heading to headquarters right now. I want both ships ready to go. Have my office contact the Hikou Mercenary Association as well."

"You're going to hire mercenaries?" Yuki looked surprised.

Ryo shook his head. "No. That group is comprised of an entire family. My sister married the head of that family, and it is their daughter who has taken Gingka. I should let her father know what she has been up to and see if he can give us any clues to where she may be heading."

"You're sure they didn't put her up to it?"

"I know my brother-in-law." Ryo chuckled. "He will be furious once he finds out that his little girl has gone rogue from him."

"Well, I hope you're right on that." Yuki chuckled. "I'll get on these orders you've given. Stay safe yourself."

Ryo nodded gravely. "I just hope we're not too late." he muttered as Yuki hung up.

It was only minutes later that Ryo arrived at his office to find Chris already speaking to a familiar face, although he was surprised to see how much older the "communications officer" for Isao's personal home was.

"I could not reach the head of the house but this young man says he's his son." Chris said.

"Greetings, uncle."

"Well, haven't you grown!" Ryo exclaimed. "Arashi, wasn't it?"

"Yes sir." The teenage boy smiled at his uncle, familiar emerald eyes sparkling. "Sorry that my parents aren't here. They went out to the nearby moon to check on operations there. I was left in charge for now."

"Ah, that's no problem. Perhaps you can help me with what I need to know."

"I'll do my best. What is it?"

"Do you have a way of tracking your sister's location?"

Arashi blinked in surprise and frowned thoughtfully. "Not her specifically but we can track her ship. Isn't she there with you though?"

Ryo shook his head. "Sometime within the past couple of hours, she stole one of my ships and kidnapped my son."

Arashi blinked, twice, stunned into silence. "She did what?" He asked, rhetorically.

Ryo sighed. "I never suspected a thing since she was acting so… Normal, for her. But apparently she had an ulterior motive for getting into my house. I've also now received a report that Argo Garcia, who we took down a couple of years ago, has been reported missing from the prison he was locked in."

"Shall I tell my father to mobilize our forces to help?" Arashi asked.

"Perhaps. I am not sure you will be absolutely needed, but he should be aware of what has happened." Ryo said.

"Well if we see anything we can tell you about it." Arashi scratched the back of his head thoughtfully, pausing for a moment before reaching both hands back and fixing the topknot on the back of his head.

"Thank you, Arashi. Perhaps we will have to all get together sometime. I hate to have the first contact with your family in years be bad news, but it can't be helped."

"Father will probably want to help you with this." Arashi replied.

Ryo nodded. "He has the communication link for our flagship, correct?"

"He should." Arashi scratched his head. "I'm not sure."

"See if there is a link to the ship named Eye of the Storm." Ryo said.

Arashi typed quickly on his screen to look. "We have one, yes."

"Good. I should hope so. It was your father and his men who helped design the ship, after all." Ryo chuckled.

"That it was. Hopefully she is serving you well." Another voice cut in, Arashi turning to look behind him in surprise as a taller man with blue hair and red eyes appeared on screen.

"Father. You are back early." He stated.

"It did not take nearly as long as I expected to check things out on the moon." Isao Hikou chuckled. "What brings you to call me, Ryo? Did you need business or just to see family?"

"Well, I wish it were the latter." Ryo chuckled. "To summarize what I just told your son, Miyako has kidnapped Gingka, and I am trying to find both her and him. You should be aware that she may have helped someone escape from one of our prisons as well. I believe you have heard of Argo Garcia.

Isao frowned and nodded, his eyes darkening in anger. "Why would Miyako do such a thing? She and I have been at odds before but this is outright treason to the alliance we have."

Ryo nodded. "I was wondering that as well. Hopefully it will not take long to find her. She did take one of my ships and it is being tracked, but I'm sure she is smart enough, coming from your family, to ditch that ship as soon as possible."

"Send us the tracking link. We will do all within our power to help you locate her and your son."

Ryo nodded. "I figured that you might say that. I currently have two ships being readied and a third has already set off to try to recover Gingka sooner than the other two will be able to. Should that ship fail, I trust that the Eye of the Storm will be able to recover her own commander."

"She is one of the best ships I and my engineers ever helped design." Isao smiled. "Perhaps, if time allows, we can even upgrade her with some recent technology that we have been using in our own ships since it was discovered. It allows them to not have to refuel, merely stop for supplies. A ship can stay out much longer without having to make any sort of stop."

Ryo looked impressed. "If time were not of the essence right now, I would have you explain more. But I will keep the offer in mind."

"I'll get ships sent out right this moment. It would seem Miyako has disabled the tracking device on her ship…"

"She can't have done that on her own." Arashi spoke up, looking up at his father. "She never managed to do it when you were showing her how to work with them on missions."

"Miyako has never had an interest in the family business." Isao said. "I tried to not leave her out of things, but it was difficult. Apparently I did not try hard enough."

"You did all you could, I'm sure." Ryo sighed. "We'll find out what's gotten into her soon enough, I hope."

"Be sure to call us if you need any help. My forces can be at your disposal if you need them."

Ryo nodded. "I should head out soon. I plan on traveling with the Eye as it performs its search."

"We've sent out a mass communication message to the entire crew." Yuki said as he entered. "Both the Eye and the Infinity should be ready to go within twenty-four hours if all goes well."

"Thank you, Yuki." Ryo sighed.

Yuki nodded, a solemn look on his face. "We will find him. And whoever took him will pay for anything they do to him."

Ryo nodded, looking to Isao. "If we catch Miyako, I will leave it to you what to do with her. You will at least get a say in her punishment."

Isao nodded. "She is my daughter, but the fact remains that she has just committed treason. A crime against you by a family member of mine…" He sighed and shook his head. "I never thought that something like this could happen. I am deeply sorry for this."

"There was nothing you could do, old friend." Ryo said. "I do not blame you for any of this. It is only on Miyako's head."

"Didn't you say that the guy who escaped your prison was named Garcia?" Arashi piped up from where he was standing, now just behind his father.

"Yes, why?" Ryo blinked at the teenager.

"Well, I was snooping around in her room the other day-" Arashi began, earning himself a disapproving look from his father, "Just to set up a prank! Anyway, I found a tablet on her bed and it was open, so I looked at it. She had written her name on it over and over but instead of our last name, she had written 'Garcia.' I thought it was just some weird thing she was doing. Mom said she did that when she was dating dad but with his last name. Maybe she was dating this guy."

"Argo is much older than she is." Ryo frowned. "But he does have two brothers, one of whom is very close to her age. It is possible she was dating one of them, and perhaps that is what drew her away."

"I wasn't aware she was seeing anyone in the first place." Isao sighed. "I wonder how many other secrets she has kept from me."

"Hopefully this does not make us both vulnerable." Ryo said, gravely. "If she was willing to kidnap Gingka, I'd be willing to bet that she helped Argo Garcia escape, and is likely with him right now. If she is with him then that means that Gingka is being taken to his fleet, or what is left of it after what happened two years ago. With how skilled of a captain he is, and how well he had many of us fooled before Gingka and his current officers exposed him, Argo is a dangerous opponent."

"Gingka is in more danger than we thought if Argo and Miyako are indeed working together then." Isao said.

"I wonder what they want… Information, most likely." Ryo sighed heavily.

"We're being called by the shuttle that is missing from your personal hangar." Chris reported from the controls.

Ryo and Isao promptly scowled, looking so alike in that moment that Yuki and Arashi couldn't help but snicker despite the seriousness of the situation.

"Open the channel. We'll both talk to them." Ryo ordered.

Chris nodded, and soon enough, two more familiar faces appeared on screen next to Isao and Arashi's.

"Miyako. And Argo. I'm not surprised." Ryo said, a cold formality to his tone.

"But of course, uncle." Miyako said in the same sweet tone she had used earlier, a tone that now reeked with the deception she had used to gain Ryo's trust in her before shattering it to bits. "And father, too. What a surprise." Her eyes, the same shade as Isao's, darkened in anger at the sight of her father.

"What are you doing, Miyako?" Isao asked calmly, although he was clearly also angered by his daughter's actions.

"What I want to do, not what everyone else wants me to do without listening to me." Miyako scoffed. "But I didn't call to explain myself. I'm happy doing what I'm doing. I just called so that my friend, and possibly future brother-in-law here, could explain what he wants." Miyako stepped out of the way to reveal none other than Argo.

"Argo. I thought you might be involved in this." Ryo growled.

"Oh but of course. I thought that you might notice the coincidences between her arrival and my escape." Argo chuckled darkly. "Now, to get to the point before we abandon and detonate this ship so that you cannot follow us… I want the blueprints to your flagship."

"Or what?" Ryo snapped.

"Well, I think you already know the answer to that question. After all, your highest ranked commanding officer and son is currently being taken aboard my ship, unable to even move with the way he's tied up, much less escape or anything else he may have in mind at the moment. Since he won't give us the information we want we have to use you as our second source."

"So basically, you want us to hand over those blueprints in exchange for Gingka." Ryo growled.

"Naturally. I do hope you will make a good decision on this. I'll give you twenty-four hours to think about it before I contact you again." Argo chuckled. "If you decide before then, well, I'm going to be taking the communication link off this ship, so you can merely use it to contact us with the location to make the transfer."

Ryo and Isao both growled angrily as Argo cut the connection.

"We can't let him have the plans to the Eye." Yuki spoke up after a while.

"We can't let him harm her commander either." Ryo sighed, looking to the ceiling. "Continue preparations to set out. If we can find Gingka in time, before Argo can do anything to harm him, then we won't need to hand over the plans. If not… Well, we'll just have to see."


	3. Chapter 3

**I promise I meant to update this WAAAY sooner... But hey guys! I'm not gone from this site yet so here we are with another chapter! But now I am seriously going to just get back to my previous schedule of posting one chapter a week because I've missed completing stories and such. Got some enthusiasm back for it too so we SHOULD have no more extended delays like I've been doing lately. Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

"You are so lucky that I don't have any of my gear right now or I'd be outmaneuvering and outstrategizing you just like last time." Gingka grumbled under his breath as he tried to find some sort of way to get his wrists free of the ropes he had been tied up with.

"Oh please, even if you had the little teleportation device you apparently had last time you battled Argo, you would have nowhere to teleport to right now." Miyako said, suddenly entering. "I wouldn't bother struggling against those bonds. Sometimes the old-fashioned methods work better than the newer ones we have, like in this case."

Gingka looked up, glaring at his cousin. "Your point?" He snapped, debating whether it would be worth the effort to leap up and bodyslam her. After musing over the idea for a few seconds, he came to the conclusion that it would be rather pointless since he was now aboard Argo's shuttle, undoubtedly on his way to the Garcia flagship or headquarters.

"You have no way of escaping with or without your gear." Miyako said.

"If I had my suit and uniform it wouldn't matter where I teleported to." Gingka retorted. "I'd be able to get away just fine and signal someone to pick me up."

"Oh but would that tiny little bit of technology keep you alive long enough for anyone to find you?" Miyako drawled in a sweet tone that Gingka knew was hiding her true personality.

"It would." Gingka said, although he honestly was not sure if that were actually true. He knew better than Miyako the limited oxygen supply that his suit contained. Drifting out in empty space for too long would mean gradual death by either suffocation or impact with debris, and Gingka was not all too eager to fall to either one.

"You're bluffing. But, let's stop bothering with hypothetical situations, shall we? The fact is, because you thought you were safe when we took you captive, you have absolutely none of the technology that would let you escape or contact your friends."

"It doesn't matter whether I can escape on my own or not. You underestimate the abilities of the WBBA fleet as a whole."

"Oh, but you underestimate the abilities of the Garcia fleet. They will not be so easy to defeat, especially if your father and mine decide to comply with Argo's demands." Miyako said, leaning casually against the wall and crossing her arms with a sly smirk on her face.

"As if they'd ever do that." Gingka rolled his eyes. "Just give it up. You can't beat the Eye's abilities."

"Not with any normal ship, no." Miyako said. "But we have you."

"As if I'm going to help you." Gingka snorted.

"Oh it won't matter whether or not you help. Your father will be quite worried and eager to get you back safe and sound, especially if we give him a bit further… Persuasion."

Gingka bit the inside of his lip slightly at the tone in Miyako's voice at the mention of 'persuasion.' He had a sickening hunch of what that might mean for him, but he hid his nervousness over the fact and forced himself to remain calm for the time being. "He won't help you. The Eye will take out any ship you throw at it."

"Not if the ship we throw at it is a perfect copy of the Eye itself." Miyako smirked

Gingka paused, eyes widening slightly at her words as the weight of what they meant fell heavily in his mind. Clearly, Miyako was telling him that they planned to convince Ryo to hand over the very blueprints for the Eye in exchange for him. Not that he was all that surprised, once he thought about it. The Eye had no equal in space, after all, so it was only natural that its opponents would want to even the odds.

"Miyako, we're nearly there. My brother called and said he expects to meet you in the hangar when we arrive." Argo said over a speaker.

"Ah, has he missed me then?" Miyako's entire expression instantly changed, her eyes sparkling with excitement at Argo's words.

Gingka blinked repeatedly in surprise, shaking his head slightly at how quickly Miyako had gone from threatening him to being excited to see Argo's brother.

"Just get up here. We'll have the ship's crew take Hagane down for lockup when we arrive." Argo said.

"I'm coming." Miyako said in a singsong tone, gliding through the doorway and closing the door behind her as she left.

"... Talk about a mood swing." Gingka grumbled under his breath as he returned to trying to free himself.

"So, Gingka's been captured, his cousin is now an enemy, they want the blueprints to the Eye… What is our plan?" Kyoya said as he and the others took their seats in the command center of the Eye of the Storm.

"Don't forget the upgrades that Mr. Hikou mentioned he had designed for us." Yuki spoke up eagerly.

"Is that really what you're focusing on?" Ryuga grunted, looking annoyed.

"Well… I am curious to see what they are." Yuki admitted. "But I know that getting Gingka back is more important."

"What should we do then, Director?" Dynamis asked, looking to Ryo, who was occupying the chair that Gingka normally did.

Ryo sighed heavily. "We need Gingka back."

"But we cannot allow our enemies to even the odds in power or who knows what might happen." Kenta said.

"That is true. But even if we gave them the plans, we would still be more powerful." Aguma said.

Everyone looked at him in surprise, eyebrows raised.

"Explain your thoughts, Aguma." Ryo said.

"It's really quite simple." Aguma said, leaning forwards in his chair and resting his elbows on the table. "They only asked for the original blueprints. A copy of these will do just fine to give them. But, the upgrades Mr. Hikou proposed are not in the original blueprints. The Eye would be more powerful with them. We simply have to sacrifice some time and it will remain the most powerful ship. Upgrading the Eye will take us much less time than it will take them to build an entire new ship using the blueprints. They will not know of or have the upgrades and, if they are as powerful as they are supposed to be, we can strike first and destroy their plans before they have time to put them into action."

"And we get Gingka back safely and quickly without a problem, hopefully." Ryo nodded thoughtfully. "While I still do not like the idea of handing over the blueprints, I do see some good points in your strategy."

"So basically, we send them the plans, secretly upgrade our own ship, and get Gingka back either way?" Kyoya raised an eyebrow.

"We do have to consider that they still might not give Gingka back in exchange for the plans." Yuki sighed. "We'll have to find some way to ensure the exchange."

"Because they wouldn't accept an offer to leave Gingka somewhere and we send them the plans as soon as we recover him. If it were that easy we wouldn't have to send the plans." Ryuga scoffed.

"And likewise, we don't want to send them the plans and then have them suddenly say 'oh, we're not giving him back.'" Aguma nodded. "It will have to be an in-person exchange."

"Meaning that someone has to go with a physical copy of the plans and hand them over while Argo hands over Gingka simultaneously." Ryo sighed.

"It should be someone who can fight their way back out if needed." Aguma said. "We cannot trust Argo even for a second to not pull some sort of trick on us."

"Then it'll have to be one of you guys, or multiple of you." Ryo said, looking around at the Eye's officers, who nodded. All eyes suddenly fall on Ryuga and Kyoya, who raised their eyebrows at this.

"Why are you looking at us like that?" Kyoya asked slowly.

"Because you two are probably the best to send." Ryo said. "Dynamis can take over command of the Eye while you're gone with no problem, Yuki can stay behind to track your progress and supervise the upgrading of the Eye, and Aguma needs to stay to be our strategist should something go wrong."

"And if Argo tries to fight us about getting Hagane back, you want us to be able to fight and get him out safely." Kyoya said.

Ryo nodded. "Two of you should be able to even carry him if necessary. If we meet at a neutral place, you won't have to go very far."

"And if we bring his suit as well, we will have even fewer problems." Ryuga scoffed. "But I won't be carrying him."

"Hopefully he won't be in a condition where that will be necessary, but we should be prepared for the worst." Aguma said sternly.

"Clomb is neutral." Chris piped up from where he was sitting. "It would be a good point to make the transfer at."

"What ship do we send to do so?" Yuki asked.

"The Infinity is available and on standby. It's fast and has enough attack capabilities to fend off anything Argo may try, but it won't attract as much attention as the Eye would." Kenta said.

"Plus we need the Eye to begin its upgrades as soon as possible since conflict is imminent." Yuki said.

"Waiting for its upgrades would take too long and the Hikou base is on the opposite side of our territory." Ryo nodded. "They will be trying to extract information from Gingka as well so time is of the essence."

"So we have our plan then. We send Kyoya and Ryuga aboard the Infinity to trade the blueprints for Gingka, and in the meantime, we send the Eye secretly to the Hikou base for its upgrades."

"What if they attempt to attack the Infinity with an entire fleet to prevent us from taking Gingka?" Chris asked. "It cannot fight more than one or two other ships."

"We add a cloaking device to it on the way." Kyoya shrugged. "That should not be too difficult to do and we already have the technology. When they get there it will seem as if we have only brought a small shuttle. We will insist that both parties bring no more than that to the meeting place. Even if Argo does not listen, he will expect us to honor our own request and will not bring enough ships to stop the Infinity as it makes its escape."

"That is a good idea. Is there anything else we need to discuss?" Chris asked, looking around.

Ryo shook his head. "I think we have covered everything. I want you guys to send out the orders we have just discussed. Kyoya and Ryuga, head to the Infinity and set off as soon as you possibly can. I will contact Argo and tell him of our plans for the trade. The rest of you, remain with the Eye on standby but begin contacting and heading for the Hikou base to get those upgrades."

"Understood, Director." The group nodded, all standing as Ryo, Kyoya, and Ryuga left the room to head out to their respective roles in the plan.

In the meantime, Gingka was watching calmly from an open hangar door as the shuttle that had brought him to the ship he was now sitting aboard was blown to pieces by Argo's fleet.

"There. Now we had best get out of here before they can arrive to find us." Argo smirked, motioning to two of his crew members to come and take Gingka away to the cell block below them.

"You will be defeated, Argo." Gingka said, keeping himself outwardly perfectly calm despite the rising fear in his mind.

"Oh I don't think so, Hagane." Argo sneered. "As I've explained to you before, we will be getting the plans for your ship in exchange for you… If we even decide to trade you back at all."

"They won't give you the plans, and even if they did, they wouldn't let you take them without returning me." Gingka snapped back.

"Captain Argo, there is a call on the bridge for you from the WBBA headquarters." an announcement came over the loudspeaker.

Argo merely smirked at Gingka triumphantly before turning and heading for the elevators, ordering his crew to follow him and to bind Gingka more securely.

"I thought you were taking me to be locked up. Changed your mind?" Gingka grumbled as he was yanked to his feet, Argo's crew binding his arms to his torso.

"I want you to be there when your father agrees to comply with my demands is all." Argo said smugly.

"As if he's going to do that instead of making you agree to his." Gingka shot back. "You may have me but they have the Eye and you know that you cannot fight that ship."

"That is why they do not know our location, and why we are going to build an identical ship, you idiot." Argo rolled his eyes. "After how well you outsmarted us last time, I'm surprised you're this dense."

"After how well I outsmarted you last time I'm surprised you're this confident you're on top of the struggle here." Gingka shot back angrily as they reached the bridge of Argo's ship.

"Enzo if you're gonna make flirty looks at your girlfriend go somewhere else." Ian was saying.

Argo snorted. "Pull up the call, and no funny business from the three of you while we're talking to our enemies. This is serious business and a great success."

"So you think." Gingka growled.

"And someone shut him up. Gag him or something. I don't want him talking and interfering." Argo waved a hand dismissively in Gingka's direction, the redhead grunting as a thick piece of fabric was tied around his face, preventing him from speaking further.

"Argo. I see you've reached your ship after all." Ryo greeted coldly as he came onscreen, quickly noting his son in the background and casting him a brief worried glance before setting his face into a professional expression.

"Yes the journey was quite uneventful." Argo sneered. "I trust you are calling to accept my terms? After all, we both know that you wouldn't want anything to happen to your son and highest ranked commanding officer." he gave a slight nod back to Gingka, who merely shot a heated glare into the back of Argo's head before looking to his father and shaking his head frantically, trying to tell him to agree to nothing.

"We've decided to accept your terms, Argo." Ryo said calmly, trying not to look at his son while maintaining a calm expression. "If you bring Gingka to the surface of Clomb in the main marketplace's south side, we will send two representatives with a hard copy of the blueprints to the Eye of the Storm."

Gingka stared in surprise at this, having not expected his father to agree so readily. He struggled for a moment against his bonds, letting out a muffled cry of protest.

"We will meet representatives from your ship there and hand you the blueprints to the Eye. You will hand over Gingka at the exact same time or you get nothing." Ryo said in a stern tone, knowing that he was really the one on top of the struggle even though Argo likely thought it was the other way around.

"And how do we know that you will not try to blow up my people as they leave?" Argo sneered.

"I could ask you the same." Ryo said. "For that reason, we will only be sending a small shuttle to the surface."

"Shuttles don't have a very long range. If you have the Eye cloaked nearby to intercept us then we have no deal." Argo said.

"We will not be sending a warship to take our representatives to Clomb." Ryo said. "Any ship that takes the shuttle the majority of the way will not interfere with your arrival or departure provided that you do not send any ships to interfere with ours."

"Alright then, fine." Argo said, surprised this was going easier than he had hoped. "We'll agree to your terms. Shall we say, oh, three days to arrive at Clomb, and we make the exchange at this precise time then?"

Ryo thought for a moment before nodding. "Our ship will be able to gather the blueprints and arrive within that time."

"You had better. Otherwise, I might choose to take out my impatience on your commander here." Argo smirked.

Gingka grumbled something under his breath that remained muffled by the gag, still glaring at Argo. Ryo shot his son a sympathetic look as if to say that everything would be alright soon before turning his attention back to Argo.

"Understood. We have a deal." He said before cutting the connection.

Argo smirked and turned to Gingka. "That's another point for me. This is going quite well. Take him away men. Don't bother making him comfortable."

"You will pay for this, Argo…" Gingka thought to himself as he was led off. "This isn't over yet. And you're going to lose a second time. This time… For good."


End file.
